Knockdown sheet metal cabinet



Feb. 8, 1949. l -l. LEW 2,461,219

KNOCKDOWN SHEET METAL CABINET Filed May 16, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l M nninmlilmF l INVENTOR HaroZei L e W.

ATTORNEY Feb. 8, 1949. E 2,46i 219 KNOCKDOWN SHEET METAL CABINET 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 16, 1946 IHII llllll ui-l In I INVENTORflaraZdZem ATTORNEY Feb. 8, 1949. H, LEW

KNOCKDOWN SHEET METAL CABINET 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 16, 1946 4INVENTOR Harold Zew.

BY 2/ fJWM ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES" PATENT oFncEHarold Lew, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application May 16, 1946, Serial No. 670,196

This invention is an improvement in cabinets,

net preferably made of metal and comprising.

relatively few parts of simple design, and shaped at their engagingportions so as to be capable of easy connection when set up to give thecabinet its final form.

A further object of the invention is to provide a metal cabinet withshelves on the interior and with members for supporting the shelvesadapted to be engaged by parts of the body of the cabinet at the sidesand back, so that they can be secured without extra small fasteningdevices such as bolts, screws, and nuts; said membershaving grooves sothat the shelves can be quickly mounted and held in their proper places.

The nature and advantages of the invention are clearly set forth in theensuing detailed description, taken with the accompanying drawings; butthe structure disclosed is offered by way of, explanation only and I donot Wish to be necessarily limited to the exact details of the cabinetwhich i the drawings present.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of the parts of a metal cabinet according to myinvention, disconnected from one another but in readiness to be joinedtogether;

Figure 2 is a vertical section of the assembled cabinet taken on a planepassing through the cabinet from front to back;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the 1.

sides and back respectively within the cabinet;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the top of the cabinet;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the bottom or base of the cabinet;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the lower part of the cabinet showinghow the sides and back stand on the bottom;

Figure 10 is a-perspective view showing the cabinet complete with allthe parts, including the doors, in position;

Figure 11 is a plan view in part of the back, sides and door, the topbeing removed; and

Figure 12 shows a detail. V

The numeral l indicates a member to form the back of thecabinet, 2 thetop thereof, and 3 the 5 Claims. (Cl. 312 ----144)v i 2 bottom. The topand bottom are attached to the upper and lower edges of the back I bymeans of hinges 4, these hinges being of thewell-known two-leaf typeconnected by a pin so that when the leaves of the respective hinges aremoved together with the'bores or bearings for-the pinin alinement, thetwo leaves of the hinge can be united by merely slipping the pininto'place. The sides, 5 are attached at their rear edges to the back Iby similar hinges 6; the sides having flanges along the upper edges withopenings that register with openings in the top 2, so that the top andthe sides can be secured to one another with bolts and nuts,theZ-holes-in the top? for this purpose being indicated at l and theholes in the upper parts of the sides being indicated at 8. The cabinetalso includes doors 9 in front secured to the forward edges of the sidesby the same kind of hinges l0.

The back i has a horizontal flange l'l along its upper edge and thevertical lateral edges of the back are shapedso as to make verticalchannels l2; these being formed by bending said edges over and inward asrequired. The outer edges of these two channels may be doubled over orbeaded to reinforce same. These channels are open at their lower ends topermit the back to receive and hold a shelf supporting member or platel3 which, as indicated in Figure 6, is shaped to provide horizontaltransverse channels l4 that may be square inv cross-section. The back Iand the plate l3 can be assembled by slipping the member l3 into thechannels H at the lower ends and the channels i2 will overlap thismember along its vertical edges and 'hold it when the back I standsupright. The top edge l6 of the member 13, will coincide with the outeredge of the flange II and along the lower edge [5 of this member orplate I3 is a shoulder l5 so that the plate will fit the rear side ofthe bottom or base 3. v

As indicated in Figure 2, the edges of the top 2 aredown-turned andin-turned to provide inside channels H extending'all around the lowerface of the top. The bottom 3 has a shoulder l8 on itsupper faceextending all around it, and rests upon the down-turned edges l9. Withinthe compass of the shoulder l8 the bottom is higher, and the back I,the. sides 5, and the shelf supporting member l3, as well as similarmembers 23 at the sides 5, stand upon this shoulder when the parts areall united.

Each of the sides 5 has an over-turned hori- V inforcing efiect. Thefront vertical edges of the sides are shaped to provide channels 22 likethe channels l2; and associated with each side will be a shelfsupporting member shown in perspective in Figure at 23 with similartransverse horizontal channels M which match and register with thechannels of the member l3. The members 23 have shoulders 24 at the topand may be so shaped along the lower edges 25 that they rest on lowerflanges of the sides .5 but leave the holes therein uncovered.

The parts of the cabinet are attached to one a another by laying theback in a convenient posi-- tion and inserting the members 13- into thechannels 12 at the lower ends thereof. The members 23 are then insertedinto the channels 22 at the front of the sides 5 by movement edgewiseinto these channels, and between the upper and lower flanges 20. The top2 and bottom 3 are then secured to the back i by the hinges 5. Parts ofthese hinges d are aflixed to the top 2 within the channel I! along therear; and the complementary parts are attached to the member t3, theflange H, or both, on the upper edge of the back; the bottomt isconnected by hinges parts of which are made fast to the upper facethereof at shoulder 58 in the rear, and the complementary parts to thecorrect points on the member 13. The respective parts are connected byinserting the pins as above. stated. The top 2 and bottom 3, asindicated in broken lines on Figure-2, can then be folded against theinner vface of the back 1. This much can be done at the factory, so thatthe back, top and bottom may be handled and shipped as a unit.

To finish the cabinet, the back i is held upright, and the bottom 3 andtop 2 are swung to horizon.- tal positions. One side 5 is now stoodon'the bottom 3, and its upper flange 29 supports the top 2 along oneside of the latter. The rear edge 2| of the side 5 now makes contactwith the adjacent vertical edge of the back, and the leaves of hinges 6are pinned together. Now the sides 5 and back I rest upon the bottom 3by standing on the horizontal shoulder 18; and the bottom shoulder [5 ofthe plate i3 engages the bottom 3 along its rear. See Figural Bolts orpins are next inserted into the holes l and 2 from the inside of thechannel. ll, and the side also is secured by pins or bolts passedthrough the holes 8 thereof in the holes l of the, bottom. Along thesides and back of the cabinet the grooves M are continuous except at'theinner corners at the junction of the sides and back, Where the ends ofthe grooves I4 in the plates iii are covered by the side channels 52.The shelves shown at however, can be notched at the rear corners toclear these channels and make a snug lit with the inside of the cabinetalong the sides and rear; being of course unsupported in front.

After the one side 5 is thus set up and fastened, the shelves'28 are putin; and then the other side is mounted on the bottom and fastened to.the bottom, top and back in the same way; the other plate 23 receivingthe adjacent ends of the shelves 2G. The horizontal surface of theshoulder 18 is no wider than the widths of the channels l2 and 22,sothat the outerfaces of the-sides 5 and back i and the vertical faces ofthe bottom 1 are flush with one another. I

The doors 9-are,joined to the front edges of the sides by pinningtogether the parts of 'the hinges l0. These doors also are made. ofrnetal Withtheir edges 21. overturned and then iii-turned and cut awayat the corners 28 so as to present abutting beveled ends 28 which can bewelded together. Thus on the inner faces of the doors along the edgesare channels which pass all the around the doors; and these doors arefurstrengthened by vertical longitudinal ribs 25', with ends under theoverturned upper and lower edges. The doors fill the open front of thecabinet snugly, the overturned upper edges passing easily under the topand the overturned lower edges registering with the shoulder 26 in thefront when the doors are closed.

From this description it will be seen that the objectsoi the inventionare all nicely gained by the construction thus explained. The parts areeasy to manufacture and can be assembled in a very short time with butlittle effort. They make a compact and strong cabinet which also has aneat, finished appearance.

' In practice, the shoulders 2 at the top of the members 22 and theinside of the channels 11 of the top give ample space for the handlingof the bolts and nuts that hold the sides and top together. To securethe lower flanges 2% of the sides to the bottom 3, bolts are passedthrough the holes and into, the holes '2, and then the bottom can betilted a little to put the nuts on the lower ends of the bolts underthebottom.

The top also carries a pair of links or the like 3! hinged to the innerface and capable of being folded against said face. These links supporta detachably engaged bar 32, upon which articles of variouskinds may besuspended directly or by suitable hooks, as will be understood,

These links are especially useful if the cabinet is to be used as aclothes cabinet. As many links and bars 32 may be mounted within thecabinet a's'desired. Then it is only necessary to remove the shelves sothat all the space in the cabinet is available for articles suspendedfrom the horizontal bars 32.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new is? 1. A cabinethaving a top, bottom, sides and back, the latter having its verticallateral edges turned over and inward to form channels, and its top edgebent over to form a horizontal flange, the top having its edges turneddownward and inward, one of said inturned edges resting on said flange,hinges connecting the said top to said flange, a shelf-supporting memberhaving its lateral edges received in said channels, said memher having ashoulder at its lower end engaging the bottom, and hing-es connectingthe'mcmoer to the bottom, so that the top and bottom can be foldedagainst said member before assel July of the cabinet.

'2. 'A cabinet having a top, bottom, sides and back, the bottom having ahorizontal shoulder round its edges on its upper face, the sides andback resting on the shoulder, the back having its vertical lateral edgesturned over and inward to form channels, the sides having their rearedges turned over and abutting the tui ned-over -ed'ges of the back,-andhaving their front edges turned over and inward to form similarchannels, shellengaging members against the inner faces of the sidesandhaving their front edges received by the channels thereof, and themember against the back having its side edges received in the channelsof theback, the lower part of the members having horizontal shouldersabutting the shoulder on the bottom.

a '3. -1A cabinet according to claim 2; wherein the top has; downturnedand inturnededges and said 5 sides and back have overturned upper edgesto form horizontal flanges and means for securing the top to saidflanges.

4. A cabinet according to claim 3 wherein said sides also have inwardextending flanges at their lower edges to rest on and be secured to thebottom.

5. A cabinet having a top, a bottom, sides and back, the top having itsedges turned down and inward to form channels, the sides and back havingoverturned upper edges to form flanges, the top being pinned to saidflanges of the sides, and hinged to said flange of the back, the bottomhaving on its upper face a shoulder round its edges, the sides havinghorizontal flanges at the lower edges pinned to the bottom on saidshoulder, the back having channels along its vertical edges,shelf-engaging members against the inner face of the back with theirside edges received within said channels, the member against the backhaving a shoulder along its lower edge hinged to the bottom adjacent theshoulder, thesides having vertical channels alongtheir front edges, andoverturned rear edges engaging the channels on the back and shelfengaging members against the inner faces of the sides with their frontedges in

